What is Worship?

The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Isaiah 29:13
What is worship? How do we define it? How do we know if we are worshipping? How do we avoid the pitfalls described in the above Isaiah passage?

My iPod has been playing one particular song all day long. It is the song "I Worship You," written by Peter Kipley and Reggie Hamm and sung by Mercy Me on their CD Almost There.


I've been walking with a big grin
Singing with my eyes closed
Lifting up my hands
I've been lost in the moment
Sending up praises
Now I think I understand
When I open up and let it flow
I feel your touch and then I know
Does worship depend on lifted hands? On the emotions of the moment? We spend a lot of time in church talking about worship style -- traditional vs contemporary vs emergent. Does any of that make a difference? Are any of those kinds of worship more "holy" than any other? How do we know if our worship is pleasing to God? If it is truly worship? How do we know if we are "getting it right" or only going through the motions?

I like the final two lines of the verse, "When I open up and let it flow, I feel your touch and then I know." Is part of worship accepting the invitation of God to draw closer? And can we tell if we are worshipping if we "feel his touch?"


I'm standing on the edge now
Looking to a new place
Going deeper still
The feeling is electric
The power and the glory
Just move me where you will
Cause you take the song and make it fly
Into my soul
I do understand that worship cannot be measured by our emotional response. I think, though, that maybe we can judge the authentic nature of worship by our communion with God. Do we feel closer? Do we feel moved? I love the line, "You take the song and make it fly into my soul." When we began the natural church development process, our coach told us that we should leave worship feeling joy. I balked at that, at first. But if joy is that resultant response to what we do coinciding with God's purposes and needs, then I think he may have been right. It doesn't mean happy - it means that the spirit in me is dancing because God is pulling me closer. That's electric.

I can never live without it
And I'm never going to doubt it
Everyday it's new, yeah
There's nothing any better
I'll be singing it forever
I worship you
What is our response to authentic worship? Do we leave worship knowing that we have been in the presence of God? And do we have the certainty that we "can never live without it?" I think being in the presence of God results in the need to be there again. "There's nothing any better."

I think that we can determine if our worship is authentic -- if it has been pleasing to God -- by its fruit. Does worship change US? If we are close to God, and brought closer through worship, then I can't help but think that we will be changed.

Really, the kind of songs we sing, the structure of the service, and the appearance of the room are all basically immaterial. What is important is that we bring God the best we have -- we give him all of what he has given to us. Do we do that? Is our worship the best we have to offer?

I just want to dive into your grace
I want to feel your presence,
seek your face
I just want to be where you are